“We’re starting a new tradition this week and inviting you to imagine what is possible for the future of our basketball clubs with us,” Unrivaled’s latest promotional video says. The Napheesa Collier-Breanna Stewart-founded league is getting ready for a January 17 tip-off on TNT, and the names of the teams have just been released. Ending the WNBA season in a tense controversy has to have made things awkward for the co-founders, but the competition has not ended yet.

Collier and Stewart will once again take the court against each other as they will wear different uniforms in Unrivaled and not play on the same team. With a total of 30 players, 26 have been announced so far, including rookies Angel Reese and Rickea Jackson but not Caitlin Clark, not yet anyway. There are also WNBA veterans Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Jewell Loyd, Kahleah Copper, Rhyne Howard, and Arike Ogunbowale but not Sabrina Ionescu, A’ja Wilson, or Alyssa Thomas. These 30 will be divided into six teams.

Unrivaled unveils six team names playing in Miami in the 3×3 format

With less than three months remaining until tip-off day rolls out, Unrivaled has revealed the 6 teams of 30 players total that will be competing in the W’s offseason. These are Laces, Mist, Rose, Lunar Owls, Phantom, and Vinyl, focusing on various touchpoints, like music, animal names, and flowers.

The league’s X account has been putting out promotional videos introducing each team. All six clubs have launched their social media accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads. But since 4 players are yet to be finalized, the final rosters have not been released yet and will be chosen in November.

Having secured a multi-year deal with TNT, more than 45 regular-season games will air three nights a week on the channel. Additionally, two weekly games will be shown on Mondays and Fridays. Games will also be streamed on Max. The format is set to include a round-robin regular season and playoffs will feature the top four teams in March.

Unrivaled is perfect for athletes looking to stay in the country in the offseason and earn big money without playing overseas. One perk will of course be Miami in January and Unrivaled will also pay the highest average salary in women’s professional sports league history. While the 2025 season is expected to take place at Media Pro Studios in Miami, the President hopes to take it on the road one day.

Napheesa Collier’s husband wants to “potentially attach cities” to Unrivaled franchises

Alex Bazzell, Unrivaled President and also Napheesa Collier’s husband, has said that everything is being done keeping in mind the future of the league. Players can hold stakes in club ownership but the executives want to expand on that. “Right now, we’re a single-entity model; the league owns all the franchises and the players are participating in the ownership group at the league level,” Bazzell said, per Sports Business Journal.

“When you get great owners involved who are investing in a cause and believe in the long-term growth, there are special things that can happen. … We wanted to have in our back pocket the ability to sell these franchises in the next few years and to potentially attach cities to these franchises in the next few years.”

Multiple potential investors have reached out to Unrivaled with offers, though serious talks are yet to be had. WNBA team owners cannot take ownership yet because of the league’s cap circumvention rules. But there is hope that that might change in the future, thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Until then, another major women’s basketball league is getting ready to debut in exciting fashion!